A Force To Be Reckoned With
by An Unknown Reader
Summary: Sakura's journey as she struggles to become a stronger person. A tale of strength, perserverance, courage, kindness and one kick-ass kunoichi
1. Chapter 1

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen an unknown reader here. This is my brand new story. For those of you who have never read my work before I just want to thank you for taking the time. This will be a multi-chapter story and will be the first of two stories of this same continuation/ story line. I really hope that you guys like and I hope that you guys will review my story and give me some feedback but most importantly that you are enthralled and entertained by the story so without further ado I bring to you The first chapter of A Force to Be Reckoned With:

Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me. Unfortunately.

"Beep, beep, beep, beep,"

The monitors beeping continued, both keeping Sakura happy that the young man before her was alive, but painfully aware that it was her fault that he was there in the hospital. Her weakness and lack of strength. Sure she could break boulders or open up fissures in the ground, but during a battle, she still had much to be desired. Sakura Haruno. Constantly needing rescuing. Whether it was Kakashi-sensei or Yamato-taicho or Sai or more than likely Naruto, people were always getting hurt trying to protect her. Hurt because she was too weak. It tore at her insides to think that people were always paying for her weakness. She clutched her head as the familiar thoughts returned.

'weak,'

'You should never have become a ninja,'

'Weak,'

'Pathetic,'

'Poor excuse for a shinobi,'

'Please, Naruto, this is the request of a lifetime,'

That last one burned at her core the most. It pained her so, even as she watched the rise and fall of his chest and the peaceful look on his face. Naruto. She knew that he would do anything for her. But she didn't want him to. She couldn't stand to lose him, her friend. They had been through a lot together. If she lost him, all of him, his smile, his laugh, his antics it was just too much to bear. As she sat there listening to his calm breaths and the beeping of the monitor she made up her mind.

'Never again'

She stood up slowly and then made her way out of the room. She turned and made her way down the hallway. She passed numerous nurses and doctors on her way.

'The midnight shift must be coming in,' she thought to herself.

She received many smiles and a few "good evenings", she wasn't surprised. Her apprenticeship to the Hokage had made her a regular here.

'All that medical training and you're still weak,'

'Alright alright I get it already,' thought Sakura to herself as she attempted to beat back the waves of guilt and shame. Now was not the time to feel sorry for herself, now was the time to take action and do something about. She thought back to her days in team 7. The original team 7. Not the fractured mess of emotions and painful wounds that would never close that had once been her home. Team seven before Orochimaru and his curse mark had ripped that dream to shreds. Naruto and Sasuke. They had never given up. No matter what they had been faced with they had never given up hope. They had trained their asses off time and time again. Countless times Naruto had been pitted against challenge after challenge and countless times he had managed to come out on top through sheer will power and belief. Sasuke may have had the Sharingan but that had never stopped him from working hard to achieve strength. The two of them, always pushing each other. Constantly feeling the need to "one up" the other when it came to their skills as ninja. Sakura's thoughts drifted back to her place on that team.

'filler, waste of space,'

The thoughts though very hurtful were true. She had been content to sit around while they had become stronger. While everyone had become stronger. Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Hinata, Kiba and Shino. They had all become so much stronger, they had all surpassed her.

As she agonized on this subject she pushed through the doors. She felt the cold night air bite her flesh. Rubbing her palms against the goose bumps on her arms, she navigated the deserted streets. Shops had closed up; people had gone home to their families. Shivering she made her way to her home. Passing by familiar homes full of familiar people. She stopped in front of her house. She leapt up to her bedroom window. She usually left it unlatched and this proved to be true as she pushed it open. She grabbed her backpack and walked over to her drawers. She pulled out a tooth brush, tooth paste, soap, a razor, a towel, underclothes, weights a pair of ninja sandals and her standard Konoha ninja uniform as well as a cloak. She laid all of these items out her bed and placed them neatly and carefully in her bag. Clambering through her door frame, she hopped up onto the roof and began to make her way towards the center of the village. Jumping from roof to roof, the wind playing with her hair as it trailed behind. She leapt down from the roof and landed in front of the Hokage tower. She strode through the doors, not surprised in the slightest that it was still open at this late date. She felt a nervous unease seeping into her stomach as glided down the hallway and up the stairs. She passed Shizune's office and her right and stepped in.

"Hey Shizune. Do you know where Tsunade-shishou is?" she asked, her hands gripping the door frame.

"I think she's still in her office finishing up some paper work," Shizune answered looking up from her paperwork.

"Thanks Shizune," Sakura said as she began to make her exit.

Just as she was about to reach the door she heard Shizune's voice from behind her.

"Sakura. Are you going on a mission?"

Sakura paused thoughtfully at this before answering.

"I guess you could call it that,"

The uneasiness at the pit of her stomach was beginning to rise as Sakura got closer and closer to the Hokage's office. A trembling feeling had just begun to spread to her knees as Sakura raised a hand to knock on the door.

"Come in," came Tsunade's surprising sober voice.

Sakura stepped in and closed the door carefully behind her. Tsunade was almost literally buried behind stacks of paper. Only her blond hair peaked out from above them. She stood up and pushed her chair in; she wore a look of concentration, her tongue was sticking out of the side of her mouth as she finished a last piece of paperwork. She looked up at Sakura as she grabbed a new one.

"Ah Sakura what brings you here,"

"I want to take a leave of absence," stated Sakura.

"I'm afraid I can't do that right now Sakura. Too many of our other ninja are out on missions for me to give you vacation," replied Tsunade, her eyes returning to the papers on her desk.

"This isn't vacation,"

Tsunade froze at this and then looked up at Sakura questionably.

"This is a training trip. I've been analyzing my recent performance and I have come to the conclusion that I require more training," Sakura answered Tsunade's questioning look.

"Sakura you're very st-,"

"No I'm not. I'm nowhere near strong enough. People keep on getting hurt for me. I can't protect my friends my teammates. I just can't. I can't I can't keep on letting this happen," blurted out Sakura as tears started to pour from her eyes.

Suddenly Tsunade was there her arms wrapped around Sakura.

"It's okay. I know how you feel. I really do. I've been there before. That feeling of helplessness, of worthlessness these are not things that any sensei can teach to you to defeat, you have to grow and overcome these difficulties and problems." Tsunade reassured her.

Tsunade released Sakura and then strode around her table to retrieve the necessary paperwork.

"Okay, all of that is settled. Is there anything else that you'll be-," she began but was cut off by Sakura's fierce hug.

"Thank you so much Shishou. You don't know how much this means to me. There is one thing that I will need though," She whispered her request into her ear.

Tsunade nodded and then walked over to a closet pulled out a key unlocked the door pulled something out and gave it to Sakura.

"You'll find it very handy." She said as Sakura stuffed the item into her bag.

She enveloped Sakura in a very motherly hug and then released Sakura and watched her spring out of the office and toward her destiny. She looked down to see three envelopes in her hand. Letters each labeled to a different set of people. One read mother and father, the other friends and the final… Naruto. Tsunade let out a small sigh as she thought about Sakura's last words to her.

'You don't know how much this means to me,'

"Oh Sakura I do, trust me I do,"

Sakura was floating on air. She bounded down the steps and bolted through the streets towards the main gate of Konoha. She felt so happy that she was going to be able to become stronger finally. That she would catch up with all of her friends and that she would truly become a strong kunoichi. She skidded to a halt at the front check- in point and waved to the two chunnin sitting there.

" Hey Sakura-san, where are you going?" The taller one, a woman with brown hair asked

"On a training trip," Sakura replied.

"Like Naruto did?" the other a shorter red hair young man interjected.

"Just not as long," Sakura supplied.

"Any idea when you'll get back?" the woman asked.

Sakura pondered this question and gave a very measured response.

"I'll come back… when I have become… a force to be reckoned with,"

And with that, she sprinted off into the night.

Well that raps up this first chapter of A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH, I hope you guys have enjoyed it, Please leave a review. What you liked what you didn't like. I hope to review soon but that may not be possible because I still have to think and plan out the rest of this story. As I mentioned above this will be one of two books (a duology I think it's called, not sure about that though) and I already have most of the important plot points planned out in my head but there are still some gaps especially in these next few chapters so the next reviews may take a couple of weeks but after that they should begin to come a little faster. Thank you so very much for reading. Happy Easter.

An Unknown Reader.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello readers this is An Unknown Reader here with the next chapter A Force to be Reckoned with. I want to think you guys first for following this story and for reviewing and also for bearing with me because as I said at the end of last chapter, these updates will probably be a little slower at first. But know this even now as you're reading chapter 2 I am currently working on Chapter three so with that in mind I give you Chapter 2 of A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

"Dialogue/sounds,"

'Thoughts,'

"Beep,beep,beep,beep,"

The sound of the heart rate monitor was the first thing that Naruto registered, even before he had opened his eyes. He felt numerous aches and pains all throughout his body. He felt that unfortunately familiar tightness of the bandages around his forehead, arms and torso. He opened his eyes, blinking them rapidly to get accustomed to the sudden intake of light. Someone had drawn his curtains open and Naruto could see the sun as it began its daily ascension into the sky.

" Ah" he groaned as he shifted his position. Looking around the room, he saw that he was alone. The other bed on the opposite side of the room was currently unoccupied. His eyes moved across the room. Someone had placed some flowers in a vase on the small table by his bed.

'Sakura' he thought, but even as the name had popped into his head, something on the table caught his eye.

'What's this?' he thought picking up the object.

It was an envelope of an off white color. Written clearly on the front was his name. Turning it over, he stuck his thumb into the flap and broke it open. Inside was a single sheet of paper, folded three times. He put the envelope on the table and unfolded the letter. His eyes roved across the paper slowly. Suddenly his eyes shot wide open. He threw the covers off of himself. He jumped out of bed, staggering as he clutched the table for support. He steadied himself and made his way out of the room. Half limping- half stumbling he moved swiftly through the halls, paying no mind to the numerous doctors and nurses that he passed.

"Hey" he heard someone shout behind him.

He quickly limped down the stairs and sped up as he pushed the main doors open and hobbled into the street. He received numerous stares from passerbys and he felt a cool breeze in his lower regions, clueing Naruto into the fact that he was naked except for his rather small hospital gown. He paused slightly wondering whether it was worth it to go back and get some pants. Deciding against it he continued towards his destination, The Hokage Tower.

Shizune had been up since very early that morning. As the Hokage's assistant she had to organize Tsunade's papers, take them to her, schedule her appointments and basically keep track of just about every aspect of the Hokage's life. If the Hokage was doing something, Shizune would know. Her job was usually mundane so it was an understatement to say that she was surprised when Naruto Uzumaki went streaking past her office door clad in nothing but a hospital night gown.

The Hokage had also been a wake since very early in the morning. After her habitual rejuvenating glass of sake to start her day she had gotten to business. She had it figured that if she could work diligently and finish all of her paper work and anything else that she might have to do then she could relax for the rest of the day. It was with this in mind that she set out to do all of her tasks with extra vigor and efficiency all the while thinking about how nice it would be to just kick back and relax.

Unfortunately for Tsunade, all of these plans were dashed when a hospital gown clad Naruto burst into her office.

"Baa-chan!" he shouted in a completely unnecessary effort to get her attention.

"Yes Naruto," she sighed, already knowing what was coming as she could see the letter in his hand and she resigned herself to the fact that she was probably going to end up giving Naruto a lengthy explanation of the previous day's events.

"What's the meaning of this?" He asked, brandishing Sakura's letter.

"Did you read it?" she inquired trying to spare herself needless explanation.

"Yes, of course I did," He snapped.

At this moment Shizune burst through the doors.

"Tsunade-sama,… Naru- oh, well he's… already here. I was just going to …tell you that he probably wanted …to see you. I'll just be going." Shizune panted.

"Wait," Tsunade shouted "this information concerns you as well, in fact, it concerns all of the Sakura's friends and her parents. I want you to find them all and bring them here to me and then I will tell all of you what transpired two days ago."

"What! Two days," Naruto yelled.

"Yes Naruto, you've been unconscious for two days. Even you take time to heal properly," Tsunade explained as Shizune bowed and then walked out the door to complete the task that had been assigned to her.

It took all of about 50 minutes for all of them, Sai ,Ino ,Choji ,Shikamaru ,Shino ,Kiba ,Hinata ,Neji ,Tenten , Lee and Kakashi to arrive, trickling in one at a time until finally Sakura's parents walked in, trailed by Shizune. They all stood there apprehensively, wondering why they were all gathered there.

"I've gathered them all here just as you requested Tsunade-sama," Shizune said with a respectful bow to the Hokage.

"Yes thank you Shizune," turning to address the other occupants of the room she continued "You're probably wondering why I've had you all gathered here. We are here to discuss your teammate and friend Sakura. You may or may not have realized that you have not seen Sakura for these past few days and this is because she is not in the village. Two days ago I gave Sakura permission to take a one year training journey."

She let her words hang in the air as she noted the reactions transpiring in the room. Neji, Kakashi, Sai and Shino showed only mild surprise. Hinata, Ino, Tenten and Shizune all gasped in shock. Lee only stared forward. Naruto had a pained look on his face, but the worst reaction came from the Harunos. Mebuki, Sakura's mother, sagged at the knee and Kizashi, Sakura's father, caught her. The distress was apparent on both of their faces, even Kizashi's normally jovial and Mebuki's usually serious expressions had given way to fear for their daughter.

"Do be afraid, your daughter is a very strong and capable women and a skilled kunoichi in her own right. I trained her myself," Tsunade reassured.

"If you trained her yourself, then why does she require more training?" Mebuki asked.

"Sakura feels that she is constantly needing to be rescued by her comrades during missions, this often leads to them getting hurt," Tsunade started, throwing a glance at Naruto " she cannot stand it if her friends are constantly being injured trying to protect her so she is training so that she will be… a force to be reckoned with and someone who will no longer need saving,"

"But what kind of training will she be doing?" Lee interjected.

"Anything from taijutsu to ninjutsu. I gave her with a scroll that contains instructions on numerous jutsu and techniques," Tsunade supplied. " I know that when she comes back she will not be the same Sakura that left, she will have become immensely powerful," looking towards Mr. and Mrs. Haruno Tsunade finished "Sakura will make you proud," and thus the meeting ended.

"ahh," Sakura sighed as she lowered herself into the stream feeling the relief the cool water brought to her aching muscles after another long day of training.

After having reached what she felt was a good distance away from the village, Sakura had set about building an improvised shelter, mentally cursing herself for not having the foresight to bring a tent. She had slept what was left of the night away, very thankful that it did not rain. The next day she had switched her usual boots for the pair of ninja sandals and strapped on the weights to her legs. She then proceeded to go on a fun. She ran through hills and past rivers and in forests until she felt that she had gone a considerable distance and then turned back in the direction of her shelter. If it were not for the fact that she had created her shelter under a very distinct tree, Sakura might have been lost ,but she was able to find it. She created a clone to spar with until a thought occurred to her,"

'If I really want to get stronger I should fight with someone who is stronger than I am, but how can I make this clone stronger than me?'

She thought of the legs weights and then it hit her, she instructed the clone to remove its weights and then they recomensed sparring. She almost instantly regretted the decision as the clone was now considerably faster than her. During her run she noted that it had required more effort to move ,but now that she was facing an unhindered opponent, the real effect of the weights hit her just as her clones fist narrowly missed her face. She flipped backwards, widening the space in between them and had to pull out a kunai to block the shuriken that was aimed at her forehead ,that night, for the first time since she had last trained with Tsunade she felt the impact of chakra enhanced blows and needless to say, they left many welts and bruises on her. As she ate, that night, her thoughts strayed back to the village. She had guessed that they must have been told by Tsunade that she had left. She wondered how they would have reacted, she felt guilty at the pain and worry she must have put them through, especially her parents and… Naruto.

'Naruto,'

She knew that must have put him through a lot of pain with her leaving and he would probably think that it was his fault somehow that she had left.

'You'll just have to make it up to him when you get back'

And with that thought she fell asleep.

The next day she repeated her run, feeling the soreness in her muscles from the previous days training, the weights on her legs seemed to have gotten heavier if it were possible. Later in the afternoon the clone seemed to have gotten faster as well and it was all Sakura could do to keep from getting completely demolished. Her hair was plastered to her forehead by sweat as she limped down to a stream she had found on that days run. And so it was that Sakura lowered herself into the cool water feeling the relief it brought to her aching muscles. She washed herself and her clothes and then returned to her shelter, starting a fire to dry the clothes.

'Tomorrow we can begin working on some ninjutsu,'

After her run the next day, Sakura delved into her pack and pulled out the scroll that Tsunade had given her. Opening it she saw many basic jutsu that she already knew or had heard of. The layout of the scroll was very simple. First was the name of the technique then the hand seals required. Following that was a diagram of how the technique was supposed to be executed, where and how the chakra should be gather as well as the difficulty of the jutsu. Four of them caught her eye. The Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique, also Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet and the Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique. The scroll also contained the names notable users of the techniques and other names that the techniques might be called.

'Which should I try first,' Sakura thought to herself. 'I should probably start with the technique of my nature affinity, but then again I don't know what my affinity is.'

Thinking back to her academy days Sakura seemed to remember something that Iruka-sensei had said about the majority of Konoha ninja having the Fire affinity.

'Seems an okay place to start with me,'

This brings us to the end of another chapter of A Force to Be Reckoned With. I hope you guys like and please send some reviews my way telling me what you liked or didn't like about this chapter and I will try to maybe cater to what I deem as the majority opinion of my readers. I hope again to update speedily and I'm sorry for the shortness of this chapter, I'll try and make the following chapters longer. Have a nice day.

An Unknown Reader


	3. Chapter 3

Hello Readers, an Unknown reader here. I am very sorry for the space of time between this and my last update and I apologize for keeping you waiting. However in my defense, this chapter is twice as long as the previous two and I hope that it will keep you entertained until next I can update this story so without further ado here is the 3rd chapter of A Force to be Reckoned with.

Disclaimer: Why would Masashi Kishimoto write fanfiction about his own story.

"Speech"

'_thoughts'_

Sakura paced over to the small clearing near her improvised shelter, the jutsu scroll tucked under her arm. She found the Fire Release Grand Fireball Technique. She had decided that she would first try the Fire Release Techniques then the Water Release and then Wind Release. There were seven hand seals: Horse-Tiger-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger. She spent the next hour going over the seals until she knew them by heart and could do them at what she considered a fighting speed. Once she had the seals themselves down. Her eyes flitted over the scroll trying to decipher the actual mechanics of the technique itself. It was fairly basic: chakra was kneaded inside the body, converted into flame and then expelled from the mouth as either an orb of flame or a continuous fireball. Turning away from the scroll she took a few steps into the clearing. Taking a deep breath, she began to gather chakra in her stomach, when she felt that she had enough she began transforming the chakra as it moved upward in her throat. As she prepared to exhale she felt that she could almost feel the flame, and then she opened her mouth and let go… and coughed out a miniscule flame that did more to leave her throat feeling like a desert than it could have done to any enemy.

_'That went well,'_ Sakura thought sarcastically as she coughed trying to ignore the burning feeling in her throat.

She took a long drink of water from the stream, allowing the cool clear liquid to sooth her throat. When the pain had subsided she retreated back to where she had left the scroll a feeling of intense confusion engulfing her. She could not, for the life of her, figure out what she had done wrong. Gathering the chakra and transforming couldn't have been the problems, she reasoned, so it must be her release. Maybe rather than trying to force the chakra out all at once, she should try to slowly release the energy.

With this theory in mind Sakura again stepped away from the scroll back into the clearing. Gathering a much smaller amount of chakra then before she began the process of moving it upward. Inhaling sharply she then slowly exhaled. The flame was small, miniscule even, but it was a start, something to build upon. The rest of the day continued in that fashion. With growing confidence Sakura could now maintain her small fire ball for a few seconds. That night Sakura fell asleep feeling thoroughly pleased with herself.

The next couple of weeks of Sakura's training went well. She has adjusted to the heavy feeling of the weights on her legs and their effect on her speed had decreased dramatically. Now she and the clone both had their fair share of bruises and welts. Her success in ninjutsu was gradually increasing and she could maintain a sizeable Fireball jutsu for about 20 seconds and after numerous trails and errors she could release the ball of fire and send it hurtling across the clearing. After her breakthroughs with the Fireball jutsu even more success came with Phoenix Flower jutsu. A slow shaky start had given way to massive improvement. Her water Shark Bomb was able to demolish the surrounding trees as well as the boulders that had littered the clearing. Overall, things were on the up and up.

In one area however, success remained elusive. Whe wind bullet jutsu had not seemed difficult, despite that large amount of chakra it required, chakra that she now had. If anything, that was her one solace, all that training that she had been doing was slowely building up her chakra reserves. Despite these new chakra reserves, success in this jutsu remain about as remote as the possibility of Kakashi giving up the Icha Icha series. Her patience was slowly waning.

Another factor in Sakura's life that was steadily decreasing was food. Her supply of rations was finite after and after a few days of increasing small and heavily controlled portions, Sakura had had enough. Reaching into her bad, she figured that she had enough money to purchase food and if it was available, a new, heavier, pair of leg weights. The leaves of the trees had been changing color and falling and it was slowly getting colder. Her make-shift hideout could soon be covered in snow. Taking off her weights and changing into her Konoha ninja uniform she packed her bag, deciding that she would take it with her. She stood up shakily. A thought came to her, since leaving the Village she had not had any contact with another human being. It had been almost three weeks since she had seen anyone, from the village or not. Her thoughts strayed to those she had left behind. Her parents, Lee, Ino, Guy, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Neji, Sai, Choji, Shikamaru, Shizune, Kakashi, Tsunade… Naruto. Her thoughts lingered on him the longest. She knew that he would worry about her, probably think that he was personally responsible for her departure, in fact she would not have been surprised if he had stormed off after her demanding that she return. She was worried that Naruto would feel like she had abandoned him. That he would feel alone and that her leaving would affect as much as Sasuke's had, but her absence, she reminded herself, was a temporary one, she would come back, and then she would make it up to all of them, especially him. She would repair any damage that might have been done to their friendship.

With these thoughts bouncing around in her head she was off. If her knowledge of the Land of Fire's geography served her correctly there should have been a village nearby. She dashed through the underbrush, dodging vines and tree roots, marveling at her new speed. She came across a dirt road and decided to follow it, hoping that it would lead her to a village. After a few minutes she entered a the village. It was unfamiliar to her and there was an unnatural stillness about the place. There were very few people outside all shuffling quickly and quietly to their destinations, never once pausing to saying anything to anybody, very unnatural indeed. Brushing these thoughts aside she move on into the village, searching for what she would need. She came across a fitness and sports supplies store and entered. The store was empty except for her and the man at the counter, both he and the store had a dilapidated beaten up air about them. Finding and paying for the weights she left quickly, pausing only to say.

"Have a nice day,"

"Wh-I mean Yeah you too," he responded giving an obviously forced smile. He was preoccupied about something.

_'I can't put my finger on it but I swear, something interesting is going on with this village,' Sakura thought to herself as she pushed open the doors and stepped out into the streets._

The street was now entirely empty. Sakura's eyes roved around trying to pick up a hint as to why this was so. Seeing nothing that could clue her in to an explanation, she continued on her way. The wind picked up whistling through the trees and bushes and blowing the signs of closed stores and shops. Turning the corner she saw a man hastily closing up a shop. Jogging over to him she asked

"Do you sell food in there?"

The man jerked up so violently he might have been stung by something. Pausing to push grimy glasses up his nose he looked at her almost as if her were sizing her up.

"A-as a matter of fact we d-d-do, but as you can see we're closed right now sorry," He finished in a squeaky voice as he hastily tried to push past her. Sakura's arm barred his way.

"Hey what's the matter?" she asked

"Nothing, I just really need to get home right…right," he began, but trailed off.

He seemed transfixed by something, not her; he seemed to be staring over her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw them. At the end of the road standing there was a number of figures, all clad in an assortment of clothing and all carrying numerous weapons. Five of the men had begun walking towards them, slowly, ever so slowly. Sakura kept her eyes peeled for any more of them even as she stepped forward ,putting herself in between the man and the steadily approaching group. They stopped a few paces from her. One of the them, the ringleader, sauntered forward, addressing the man behind Sakura as if she was not even there.

"You're payment is late, Mr. Hirohito feels hurt, I mean you not repaying him for all of the protection he gives you and this lousy town," he said sarcastically drawing laughs from the men behind him.

"No, no I can explain, I can explain," the man pleaded frantically, his voice becoming even squeakier " I was just about-."

"To close up shop and leave before we could talk to you. Now that very uncharitable isn't it," The ringleader shouted, cutting across the man. "I think we'll just have to teach you a lesson."

He made a gesture, and one of the men came forward drawing a sword a snarl on his face as he stalked toward the man. He never made it. Sakura moved so quickly it seemed unreal , what was real however was the impact of her foot in the man's face ,sending him flying backward. All of the men gawked at her. The ringleader looked her up and down, his eyes lingering on her Konoha forehead protector. He quickly regained his composure.

"Well there, what's a _pretty _girl like you doing in a village like this hmm," his hand coming up grab her chin.

She grabbed the offending finger and broke it with a single snap of her wrist sending the man to the floor, clutching his hand.

"Get her," he howled.

The remaining three men drew their weapons and began circling her. Suddenly one of the lifted his sword high and charged her. Sakura kick caught him in the chest and sent him sprawling backwards she deftly evaded as sword strike and knocked the man down with an elbow to the face. Jumping over a strike aimed at her feet she landed on the sword and with and palm sent the man stumbling backward, flicking the weapon up with her foot she caught and bashed the man hard on the nose, ignoring the crack as the bone broke. The rest of the men at the end of the road seem transfixed by what they had seen. The injured ringleader had gotten up ,his injured hand cradled in the other and had screamed at the rest of the men.

"Well what are you waiting for there are 20 of you and only 1 of her."

The men came forward steadily, albeit extremely slowly. Sakura ran through her options.

_' I can take them on using my taijutsu , but then I could be surrounded and possibly over powered. Punching the ground or using the Fireball jutsu would do damage to the surrounding buildings, which are probably occupied. I don't have enough nearby water to attempt the water Shark bomb jutsu so I guess that leaves me with only one option.'_

Sakura took a deep breath, massing her chakra in her lungs, building more and more up until finally she let go.

A massive blast of wind came forth from her mouth blasting the men back so that they landed in a helter skelter manner on top of each other. The ring leader who had been knocked back some yards away looked at her in disbelief and terror as he crawled away backwards even as she walked towards him, a menacing look in her eyes.

"Wh-what are you?" he cried out as she grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket.

"My name is Haruno, Sakura a kunoichi of the leaf village, and I'm your worst nightmare." she finished and flung the man from her onto his comrades who all scrambled away and out of town.

Smacking her hands together in an "I'm done here," like manner, Sakura turned to face the man behind her. Looking him up and down , he seemed to be uninjured but extremely shocked at the spectacle he had just witnessed, judging by the fact that his mouth hung in the shaped of an enourmous "O". When he opened finally did regain his senses, his next words were not of gratitude or thanks as most people ( Sakura included) would have expected.

"Now look what you have done," he shouted starting towards her. "look at the trouble you have brought here. They will be back and you will have only made things harder on the kind people of this town," he said spitting on the floor at her feet.

_'The heck, well I guess that's gratitude for you."_

Grabbing the man by the collar of his shirt she looked him in the eye, her temper steadily rising.

"Now look here, you. I just saved your life so it'd be nice if you returned the favor and could give me some food. I'll even pay for it and all that,"

"Isn't it enough that you bring even more trouble to our town, but now you as for food. My answer is no and you had better leave this town before they come back and they think we're sheltering you here."

I took all of Sakura's will power not to punch him in the face. With trembling hands she released her grip on his shirt, turned and walked away, out of the town and back down that path she had come by. Dozens of thoughts were flying through her head.

_'Well that ungrateful jerk. After fighting off those guys for him, then he comes after me like all of his problems are my fault.' _

Such thoughts flew through her head as Sakura grit her teeth and made her way down the path. However, anger and fury were soon replaced by an overwhelming sense of doubt. What if she had done the wrong thing by going in and fighting those men, was there a better way she could handle it. Had she made things worse. Had she made a mistake. She wracked her brains for an answer and after coming up short she thought of her teammates, friends and teachers.

_'Kakashi and Tsunade probably would have done the same. But what would someone like Neji or Shino or Sai do in this situation?'_

Finally her thoughts came to rest on one person.

_'What would Naruto have done?'_

She could thoroughly visualize exactly what Naruto would have done, and said, and the though brought a smile to her face.

_'No matter where he is, he can always bring a smile to my face,'_

_ 'And no matter where you go, you'll always be hurting him,' the cold voice in her head responded._

This brought on another round of fear, guilt and doubt in herself. All her memories of him seemed to pass through his mind's eye. Meeting him for the first time, staring into his dazzling blue eyes, seeing the hurt in them as she fawned on Sasuke, the pain in those same eyes as he failed to bring Sasuke back even as the rest of his body was bandaged, the shame after she saw him use the nine-tails power and after he learned that he had hurt her. All he did was try to succeed in making her happy and all she could do was fail and make him hurt, or depressed. Could she bring nothing good to the man that she… she… she what. She did not even know where she stood with him. She knew that he still cared for her, after all Naruto wore his heart on his sleeve did she feel the same way. Naruto was a man for whom she had a tangled mess of feelings and emotions , most of which she could barely even discern, let alone detangle. That he was someone Sakura cared about very much was a given but she knew that her feelings for him were more than that but she knew not where they ended or if they indeed ended and so she was lost searching for that one word that fully encompassed for feelings for Naruto Uzumaki.

Sakura's deep thought was interrupted by a sudden feeling. The well developed feeling of a shinobi. The feeling that one gets when one is being watched. Almost like a sixth sense that allows them to now they are in danger.

_'I'm being followed. That I'm sure of, by who I guess I'll just have to find out."_

Deciding to stop and rest against a tree to get a better sense of her surroundings and where someone who was surveying her might be hiding. They were probably not a ninja as a ninja would most definitely have attacked her by then, but she could not tell exactly who it was. She sat there silently until, suddenly her hand shot out and pulled out of the foliage a boy. He struggled against her grip on his arm ,but he seemed to mean her no harm. He seemed about 12 years of age and was certainly no ninja. Despite this, he had the look of someone who had much responsibility resting on his young shoulders.

"Hey let go of me," He said struggling against Sakura's grip on his arm. She released him and he took a couple steps back his hands on his knees, panting.

"I saw what you did back there in the village," he started, straightening up " and I saw what that man did. He had no right to treat you the way he did, especially after what you did for him, for all of us. I also heard you say that you needed food so I thought well we have food and we have a place to stay and -,"

"Wait, wait, wait, slow down a sec' kid. Who is we?" she inquired.

"My aunt and we have food and a place to stay," he answered.

"And you and your aunt are willing to let me stay?" she continued.

"Yes," he replied with a nod.

"Well I don't see how I can refuse such a generous offer," said Sakura with a smile.

Standing up and shouldering her pack, Sakura allowed herself to be led back in the direction of the town. However as they neared the town the path deviated leading them, rather than into the center of the town to what Sakura thought was probably the outskirts.

"By the way, what's your name?" Sakura asked.

"Shinji. And yours?" Shinji asked.

"Sakura. Sakura Haruno," she replied.

"Sakura, huh, that's a nice name," Shinji commented.

"Why thank-you," Sakura said, accepting the complement graciously.

It was clumsily however that Sakura nearly tripped over Shinji as he came to a halt. Looking up Sakura could see that it was a small building, although it was only one story, the house looked quite cozy.

"Well this is home sweet home eh," Shinji spoke, turning to face her, a wide grin on his face.

The sight reminded Sakura so much of Naruto and for the first time she found herself taking Shinji in fully. His light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes, eyes that had witnessed much pain and sadness but his smile as well a smile filled with happiness at that moment. It seemed that in every aspect except for their physical features he and Naruto were identical. She found that smile extremely endearing and she felt a rush affection for the boy before. Standing by his side she smiled down at him.

"Aren't you going to show me in. Gentlemen never keep ladies waiting,"

Shinji looked at her and Sakura could have sworn she saw a blush. Nevertheless he offered her his hand.

"Very well… my lady," and he led into the house.

Hello Ladies and Gentleman, This is an Unknown reader here. I'm just editing this chapter so that I can get a chance to talk to you guys before I release the next chapter which is not yet ready. Firstly I want to apologize for not addressing this sooner. Recently it has come to my attention that some people think that I am going to pair Sakura with an OC. I am not. I dislike that probably as much as you guys do. I am going to pair Sakura with Naruto and although it may take time to develop I assure you that when all is said and done Sakura will be with Naruto. Secondly I want to say that the scene that ended that last chapter was meant as nothing more than a playful gesture and that Shinji is not a romantic interest in any way. Thirdly I really want to thank all of the people who posted reviews to tell me about this confusion because otherwise I might not have realized. Fourth I want to apologize to all NaruSaku fans who might have thought that I was messing around with them, I was not, I really do enjoy this pairing and I hope that I can still do my best to create a good story. I really hope that I can do right by as many of you as I possibly can. I hope you guys continue to read and enjoy this story. Lastly I want to reiterate one last time that this is a NaruSaku story. You guys have been great for reading this story and tolerating my lack of updates, which I hope to rectify soon, I wish you guys a wonderful day.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello Guys an Unknown Reader Here with Chapter 4 of a Force to Be Reckoned With. I know that this is a short chapter and I apologize for that but there were some things that I wanted to talked about. Recently I was made aware of some confusion as to whether or not this was a Naru-Saku story and I just want to say that **this is a Naru-Saku story**. This brings me to my second point. Shinji, who is my own character is not going to be a romantic interest in this story. He is included for character and plot development and otherwise, he's just along for the ride to just have some other characters, but he is not going to get romantically involved with Sakura at all. By the time all is said and done **Naruto will be with Sakura. **For my other point, I want to thank all of you guys who reviewed. If it were not for you guys I would not have been aware of this problem so thank you guys so much. And I want to thank all of you guys who have been reading my story as a whole because you guys inspire me to keep going and continue so thank you guys very much as well. And so now without further ado I give you the fourth chapter of A Force to Be Reckoned With. Oh yeah I also want to sincerely apologize for accidentally putting up chapter 1 again and I thank you guys for telling me that too.

"Dialogue"

'_thoughts'_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I wish I did, but I don't so I guess I'll just have to live with that.

Shinji pushed open the door. As she had expected, the house was small, but not so much so that it was cramped. She could hear the sound of running water in the kitchen. Shinji signaled for her to stay where she was as he walked into what Sakura assumed was the kitchen. She paused for a second, craning her neck to try to hear what was going on. The water was shut off and Sakura could hear footsteps coming towards her from the kitchen. A woman came through the doorway with Shinji on her heels, drying her hands on a towel. She stopped a few paces away from Sakura and eyed her up and down. The woman had the Shinji's same hair, but she was shorter and rounder than her was. She had the look of someone who had her fair share of bad times, and then some and that she had done some worrying in her time. By Sakura's reckoning she was around 50 years old. Shinji spoke up first.

"So aunty, this is my new friend Sakura Haruno. I saw her in the village. She beat up a bunch of the gangsters like a piece of cake. Ya' should of seen it,"

At this Shinji's aunt raised an eyebrow. Never the less, her face broke out into a smile stepping forward she clasped Sakura's hands in her own.

"Well any friend of Shinji's a friend of mine. It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is you're from Konoha. Huh," she said excitedly, her eyes darting towards Sakura's Konoha hitai-ate.

"Sakura tell her about what you did to those guys in town today," Shinji suggested eagerly.

"Shinji be polite," Noshina chided "Sakura, you can take take a seat over there, would you like some tea?"

"Yes please ma'am," Sakura replied politely.

Noshina walked quickly back into the kitchen. Sakura's eyes flitted across the room as she removed her back-pack and sat down on one of the chairs that Noshina had pointed out.

" So Sakura," Shinji piped up.

"Huh," Sakura started, shaken out of her thoughts .

"Where did you learn how to do all of that stuff," he said eagerly his eyes wide.

"In Konoha there's a ninja Academy and I learned the basics there. After I graduated, I was assigned to a team and we trained together and I also trained with other ninja like the Hokage."

"oh, oh. I've heard of him. Isn't he an old man?"

"Not anymore. He died defending the village, but the new Hokage, Tsunade, I've trained with her."

"Wow that's cool, could you teach me,"

The question took Sakura by surprise. Shinji had a look of pure excitement and anticipation, she could practically see him bouncing up and down. It reminded her so much of Naruto.

"Well you see Shinji, it takes years to become a shinobi and most people begin training much younger than you," Sakura started apologetically "But you can watch me train while I'm here." Sakura finished.

"Who will you train with? Are your teammates here?" Shinji asked, looking around hopefully.

"No they're not here," Sakura answered as Shinji turned again to face her.

"oh. So they're back in the village?" Shinji supplied.

"I guess," Sakura began, looking down into her lap. " One of them left… forever. My sensei I guess he's doing missions and the other…," Sakura trailed off, a hint of pink in her cheeks.

"And the other," Shinji repeated, prompting her to continue.

"Well when I left, the other was in the hospital. He's actually the reason that I am here right now, training so I won't be a burden to him or to any of my other comrades. His name is Naruto Uzumaki, I guess you could say he's-,"

"You like him, don't you?" Shinji cut across Sakura so fast that it took her a couple seconds to register exactly what he had said and she momentarily continued with what she had been saying.

"-my best friend- wait what did you say?"

"You like him. Don't you, this Naruto.," Shinji repeated, grinning ear to ear.

"What! I do not!" Sakura spluttered, her cheeks rapidly turning red. Luckily, Sakura was saved by the timely arrival of Noshina her arms holding a tray laden with cups of tea.

"Thank you," Sakura said, accepting a cup graciously and bringing it to her lips, covering her blush.

After setting down the tray on the table, Noshina turned to face Sakura.

"Now Sakura about where you're going to stay,"

"I don't need much, Noshina-san. I don't want to cause any inconvienience,"

"Oh not at all dear, not at all, and please just call me Noshina. I feel so old when people use honorifics," the older woman reassured her. "We have a spare room upstairs, it hasn't been used in a while ,but that can be dealt with. Would you like me to show it to you?"

"Yes please, that would be nice," answered Sakura, setting down her cup.

Shouldering her pack, she followed Noshina up the stair. Turning left Noshina opened a door on the landing. It was a rather small room. The floor and all of the furniture was covered in a layer of dust. The futon in the corner was small, but Sakura was used to even worse conditions, especially after sleeping on the ground for weeks. ON the dresser was a mirror, also covered in dust. Sakura wondered who had occupied this room before her and how long it had been since they had been there. Although it could use some cleaning, Sakura found that she rather liked the room.

"I know it could use some work but I can get it clean-,"

"Oh no please… Noshina. I can do that," Sakura stated not wanting to add more to the woman's already obviously huge responsibilities.

"No, I insist. This is my house and I won't have any guest doing any kind of cleaning, ninja or not," she said, ending the conversation as she shuffled back down stairs. Sakura heard the echo of Noshina's footsteps ebbing away. Dragging her pack to the side of the bed, she eased herself on. Reaching down, she pulled off her sandals and let the soft carpet, though matted in some places, brush against her feet. She could feel that this carpet had seen a lot; Memories, good times, bad times. It had born witness to laughter and tears in equal measure. Striding over to a window she looked out, the house, thought secluded, had an excellent view of the forest. Over the horizon, the late summer's sun was setting. Both here and over Konoha.

Again, her thoughts drifted back to her home, and the people she had left behind. How were they taking her absence? What were they doing now? Did they miss her as much as she missed them? Did he miss her as much as she missed him? Naruto. His name echoed over and over again, reverberating constantly in her head. Her promise to him, that she would no longer be a burden to him and that she would no longer need him to protect her, that she would be able to do things on her own. Putting everything that she had done over the past few weeks into perspective, while it was good to know more jutsu, she would never, could never be a flashy jutsu user like he was. She just didn't have that massive amount of chakra that he had readily available, and she never would. No one did, that was one of the things that made him special. There were other things, far more important things however that set Naruto apart from other people. That happy personality, his never give up attitude, his strength of character, his ability to change people, his ability to put all of his heart and soul into something. His ability to love her. Though Sakura did have many friends, not one of them cared for her like Naruto did. His feelings towards her had never been discreet. It was always her; bonking him on the head one moment, healing the next. Only a few questions remained to be answered. Foremost of these, Did he still feel the same.

Suddenly, an Idea struck her.

_'I should write to him. Check up on him and find out what things are like in the village,'_

The perfect thing for just this purpose came to her then as well. Of course its greatest use probably came in combat, but this jutsu could be used for sending messages as well. Reaching for her pack she pulled out the scroll and found what she was looking for. Opening it up fully to get a better view Sakura leaned back against the wall and allowed herself to be absorbed in thought about Summoning Jutsu.

Hello Guys an Unknown Reader again. Thank you guys for bearing with me and my slow short updates. Thank you guys for reviewing and please review again just to tell me about any complaints that you might have with the story and I'll try to make as many of you guys happy as I possibly can. Many thanks to all of you guys and have a wonderful day.

An Unknown Reader

ps. I now I have said this before, but I am working on chapter five and I hope to have it ready by next week . It will be a much longer chapter to make up for all of these short ones that I have been giving you guys.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys an Unknown Reader here I just want to thank all of you guys for putting up with my the amount of time between my updates. I want to thank you guys for your feedback and for reviewing this story. As corny as this might sound, you guys inspire me to write and when I feel like giving up, you guys keep me going. I also want to apologize because I know that last time I accidentally put chapter 1 up again so I'm sorry, oh and thanks for telling me about that, otherwise I probably wouldn't have noticed. So now, without further ado I bring you Chapter 5 of a Force To Be Reckoned With.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Yet.

'_thoughts,'_

"Dialogue,"

Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts by a knock on her door. Putting the scroll on the ground beside her she got up, dusting herself off.

"Come in,"

She had been expecting Noshina, so she was caught slightly by surprise when Shinji came through the door.

"My aunt wanted me to check on you," Shinji stated, as if he had expected her to ask the question. "Do you find it to your liking?"

"It's wonderful. I am indebted to you and your aunt," Sakura answered gratefully.

"Well thank you. I sorry about all the dust it's just this room hasn't been used since… for a very long time," he continued quickly, sneaking a furtive glance towards her, checking to see if she had caught his pause.

She had noticed, but she did not press the issue, she could tell whatever it was he was hiding was obviously a touchy subject.

"What's that?" Shinji asked, gesturing towards the scroll on her bed.

"Oh that," Sakura smiled, looking over her shoulder at what Shinji was pointing to. " Let me show you."

Sitting down on the bed she motioned for him to sit down next to her.

Meanwhile in Konoha:

Ino had been sitting on the park bench ever since her shift at the hospital ended. It was a habit she had picked up from Shikamaru and even though to her it one of his more unbearable traits, she found it relaxing and relished the opportunity to think about her day. She left her shifts more and more tired each day. The staff at the hospital seemed to have slowed down without Sakura. Her presence as the Hokage's apprentice had galvanized them into action, there was simply something about her that inspired everyone around her to work extra hard and in the wake of her absence Ino had tried to pick up the slack , but she soon found that it took a lot more hard work than she thought and she marveled at how Sakura had managed to do it.

Aside from missing Sakura as a co-worker Ino also missed their friendship. Someone she could talk to, somebody that she could have intelligent conversation with, woman to woman. Thoughts of the times they had shared together were rushing trough Ino's mind even as she sat there watching the clouds and even as those same clouds clustered together and began to darken. Needless to say, it was rather surprising when Sai plopped down next to her.

"Hey Ino can I ask you something?" Sai inquired his eyes focused on the ground by her feet.

"Could you teach me about feelings?" He continued.

Ino was taken aback by this question and was thoroughly nonplussed. He continued never the less.

"Naruto and Sakura had been trying to teach me some things about feelings but since Sakura left and dickless hasn't been much help at all, so I figured that you might be able to help me. I read it in a book that if you need help you should ask a friend and so I guessed that I should ask you." he said with what he obviously thought was a smile. "I want to learn about and truly experience the world and everything that it has to offer. I feel like there is so much that I'm missing. Moments in my life that have slipped by, I want to be… I want to know more about really truly living."

"Well I'm flattered that you would ask me Sai, but what exactly do you want to know?" Ino asked.

"Everything,"

"Everyt-… well I guess," Ino said with a smile.

Standing up from the bench, Ino offered the dark haired boy her hand and led him off for what would be lesson number one: smiles.

The drumming of the rain on the roof of the Hokage Tower was maddening to Tsunade, making her paperwork seem more unbearable than usually. Ever since Sakura had left she had found that the piles of paper requiring her signature had grown even larger than before. However Tsunade knew that the amount of paper work that she had would increase very soon, with the Chunnin Exams coming up in less than a year coupled with the fact that Konoha would again be hosting gave Tsunade headaches just thinking about it. The clouds hung dark in the sky and the rain poured down, almost making Tsunade happy that she was inside doing paperwork.

If it were not for Tsunade's considerable skill as a ninja, the loud drumming of the rain would have drowned out the knocking on her door.

"Come in," she prompted, looking up as the doors swung open and Naruto entered. "What is it?"

"I want to leave the village,"

"No!" Tsunade refused flatly.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I said so," Tsunade said, gritting her teeth.

"Why do you say so?"

"Because you are needed here,"

"And Sakura isn't? That paperwork on your desk seems to say something different.

Tsunade stood up and walked around her desk coming right in front of Naruto, her hands on her hips. There was forced tough look in his eyes. His expression lacked emotion, very uncharacteristic of Naruto.

"So that's what this is about," Tsunade said, nodding her head understandably.

Naruto stood there, not moving an inch even though Tsunade stood barely an inch from him. He was now taller than her but that did not stop the woman from fixing him with a stern glare.

"I know who you feel Na-,"

"No, you don't. None of you know how I feel. Not you, not Kakashi, not anyone!" Naruto shouted angrily, tears streaming down his eyes.

Naruto's head slowly drooped even as Tsunade's arms wrapped around him in a very motherly hug.

" Yes Naruto, I do. I know how you feel. I've lost teammates as well and I know that it is so hard , but you have to be strong Naruto. Be strong."

Thoughts of Jiraiya and Orochimaru swam through Tsunade's mind. Waves of guilt came crashing down on her like tidal waves on the shore. She looked into Naruto's heartbroken eyes and tried to reassure him.

" She does care about you very much. She doesn't want to see you get hurt,"

"How can you defend her baachan," Naruto accused her, reverting to his use of the usual nickname " After all she's done to us. After all that she's done to you,"

"She just wanted to get stronger. She got frustrated with feeling weak,"

"She was never weak baachan. Never. I never thought so, and why couldn't see get stronger here, in the village?"

"She doesn't see it like that Naruto. This journey is about more than becoming a stronger ninja, Sakura is finding herself out there. Those little bits and pieces of her that she would never let surface are slowly coming out,"

"Don't you get it baachan. She left us. She left me," Naruto said, pushing Tsunade away to arms length.

"No Naruto. You don't get it, this was never about hurting you or anyone from the village, this was about becoming a stronger woman. I know you feel hurt , but you have to forgive her," Tsunade let her words hang in the air, her eyes searching for some positive reaction in Naruto.

Reaching down, Naruto grasped the older woman's hands. He looked directly into her eyes and said.

"I don't know if I can do that baachan. I don't know if I ever will," and he walked out, out of her office, and out of the tower and it was only by grace of whatever vestiges of the Naruto she knew that he was not walking out of Konoha.

A bit of Naruto was lost that day. It had been torn off the day he had found out about Sakura's departure, but her extended absence had slowly worked away at his innards and chipped away at his soul until nothing but a small piece of him remained the piece that had been lost that day. Torn from his heart and fallen to the floor into obscurity and so Naruto Uzumaki began his descent into darkness.

….

That night, Sakura lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. Their dinner, prepared by Noshina, had been simple and yet delicious. She had asked questions, but had not really probed into Sakura's personal life. They had both been interested in her medical training and even more so, the fact that she had trained with the Hokage herself. It seemed that even here, people knew about the Hokage and her fierce reputation as a strong "no nonsense" woman. Sakura was practically beaming with pride as she told them all about most of what her shishou had taught her.

'_Naruto,'_

Again, her thoughts drifted back to him. It seemed that no matter what she did, his name and his face would continue to resurface in her mind. Recognizing however that she did need sleep, Sakura pushed thoughts of him out of her mind and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Sakura awoke early the next day. The sun had not yet risen above the horizon. Sitting up, she dressed quickly and grabbed her scroll and shoes. Carefully, she padded over towards the window, attempting to make as little noise as possible, which for a ninja was quite easy. Slowly she eased it open wide enough so that she could slide out. Turning back towards the window she shut it quietly. The view was absolutely magnificent. The sun was not yet peaking over the horizon but its color could still be seen. Golden yellows and fiery oranges coupled with deep reds, stretching over the horizon creating something wonderful to see. Pausing only to slip on her ninja sandals, Sakura dropped down from the roof. Looking through the trees in both directions she decided to continue to her left. The trees were rather dense and Sakura soon lost sight of the house. She continued with care, making sure that she remembered the way she had came, when she needed to go back. At dinner the night before, she had told both Noshina and Shinji that she would come out early to train because she didn't want them worrying about her. Sakura continued as the trees grew sparser and they parted to form a rather large clearing in its center stood the stump of a large tree. The ground was a rough mixture of patches of dirt and grass intermingled. Unfurling the scroll she looked at it.

The basic set-up was no different from the other jutsu that she had learned. On the top was the name, followed by the hand seals and difficulty level of the jutsu.

_'What's this,' she thought as her eyes passed over an empty space in the scroll._

Above the empty space in the scroll was a heading, it read: Summoning Contract.

_'But wher-. Ahh, I guess I have to summon that too,' Sakura thought to herself._

Setting the scroll down on the ground and biting her thumb Sakura performed the necessary hand seals and slammed her palm onto the scroll. There was a poof and a puff of smoke and there was the contract scroll. Opening it she found it to be full of brown stains, not at all the pristine image of the document that would allow a person to summon powerful creatures to their aid. Upon closer inspection however Sakura saw that the stains were not stains at all, but signatures. They were the names of those who had made a contract with their animal of choice, written in blood. Scanning the list, she could barely make out Jiraiya and Tsunade's names and then, lower on the scroll… Sasuke… and Naruto. Running her finger over the messy cramped handwriting, she could practically see his huge grin and blond hair as he wrote his name. Both his and Sasuke's names looked as though they had been there for a while.

'_Well I guess they've got a head start, I'll have to learn this quickly' Sakura thought to herself._

Pulling a kunai from her back pocket, Sakura smeared some of her blood onto the tip and proceeded to write her name. Thinking back, Sakura remembered what her Shishou had said about the scroll.

_'When a candidate writes his or her name on the scroll the chief elders of all of the animals reviews them and upon review, decide whether or not they will accept the contract,'_

_ 'So how do I know if I got accepted or not,'_

_'You won't know until you try. And remember, just because you have a contract with say the slugs, doesn't mean you'll automatically be summoning huge ones like Katsuyu herself, it still takes time, patience and practice.'_

A feeling of apprehension settled over Sakura. What if they didn't accept her? What if no one wanted her? Was it based off of merit because Naruto and Sasuke both had tremendous skill even before they could summon and the same could definitely be said?

_'Well, I'll never know until I try.' She thought. _

As she made the necessary hand seals dozens of thoughts flew through her mind.

_'I have enough blood so… I guess this is the moment of truth.'_

Crouching down Sakura squared her shoulders and took a deep breath. Exhaling softly she rose her hand, palm downward and then slammed it downward, yelling.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu," Summoning Jutsu.

Black lines extended from her palm onto the adjacent ground, there was a puff of smoke and then…there, sitting on the ground before her was a slug, small and slimy. It's body was white with a single red stripe along the length of its back and two stripes along its sides. Sakura was elated.

'_So I guess this means that I got excepted,'_

As if the slug had heard her, he turned to face her.

"Sakura-san, I am Katsuchiro. I am here to inform you that you are officially accepted by the slugs. We look forward to working with you, and Katsuyu sends her regards and congratulations,"

He had deep polite voice.

"Tell Katsuyu I say thank you. It is an honor to have been chosen,"

"I will Sakura-san. Oh, I she told me to warn you, I came to you this time, but in the future you will need a lot of practice, do not be discouraged," and he disappeared with a poof.

Sakura felt overjoyed at her accomplishment. She could summon, she was one step closer to her goal. Looking skyward she let out a whoop.

So this was chapter 6 of a Force to Be Reckoned With. Thank you guys for reading and as always, review. Just tell me what you like, what you don't , where you think you want to see the story go. I take all of this into consideration when I right. I also want to tell you guys that I probably won't be able to update for another couple of weeks because I am very busy right now. I'll try to write a little everyday and then I guess we'll just see where it goes from there. I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you, and I wish you all a great rest of the summer holidays. See you as soon as possible.

An Unknown Reader.


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